Watch Dogs is out!

[NeoCracker]

And there is a mini game where you reek destruction on the town as a Spider Tank.

Really, that right there should get you to go buy this if you have not already.

[Quindiana Jones]

I guess I'll be making a trip to Guiyang next weekend.

[Pike]

I'm not normally a person for jumping on big hyped titles right at release but I do find myself wanting this one. Can't justify the price tag, though. I also probably wouldn't be able to find the time to play it for a couple of months, anyway. :shobon: Got too much going on this summer.

[AssassinDX]

I'll but it eventually, but yeah not at it's current price. I've got enough games on the go to keep me occupied (and Mario Kart 8 coming on Friday to satisfy that 'new game itch'), plus I really want to put a dent into my Steam backlog before I get too involved in anything else.

I'm interested in the game for sure, but I'll definitely wait until it's at least half the price it is now before buying it.

[Loony BoB]

Looking forward to playing this but, as with the other guys, not anytime too soon as I have to save my pennies at the moment.

[Bolivar]

The graphical downgrade from the original 2012 gameplay reveal really left a bad taste in my mouth. My guess is they delayed the game because it couldn't scale down to current gen consoles and hence why it looks noticeably worse across all platforms. Even the PC version is noted as atrociously optimized, even for an Ubisoft game (which is saying something). So that's my conspiracy theory and I can't get behind a dev who sacrificed for cross-gen appeal, all the while touting it's next gen ambition.

Won't do it.

[Slothy]

The graphical downgrade from the original 2012 gameplay reveal really left a bad taste in my mouth. My guess is they delayed the game because it couldn't scale down to current gen consoles and hence why it looks noticeably worse across all platforms. Even the PC version is noted as atrociously optimized, even for an Ubisoft game (which is saying something). So that's my conspiracy theory and I can't get behind a dev who sacrificed for cross-gen appeal, all the while touting it's next gen ambition.

Won't do it.

The poor PC optimization is really bad in my books. I'm not going to buy this game for PS3, and Ubisoft doesn't want me to play it on PC, so no money for them. Simple as that.

Forbes also has an article out where AMD claims Ubisoft's working with Nvidia on the game prevents them from having access to the code they need to get driver updates out in a reasonable time frame. The article even included a benchmark with Watch Dogs comparing a $500 AMD card which gets 50% more performance in games like Metro: Last Light than the $300 Nvidia card they compared it to. Until they set the game to ultra quality graphics and textures, the $300 Nvidia card outperforms it. That shouldn't happen. It just literally should not happen. Now this doesn't affect me specifically because I have an Nvidia card, but I have a bit of an issue with the idea of supporting a title from a company that seems like they may be screwing over a large number of PC users at the moment. For those who are interested, the Forbes article is here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonevangelho/2014/05/26/why-watch-dogs-is-bad-news-for-amd-users-and-potentially-the-entire-pc-gaming-ecosystem/

Also worth noting that Totalbiscuit said in his video on the game that he can't play it on ultra settings with a consistent 60fps at 1080p. Knowing what he has for a rig, that also shouldn't happen. It just sounds like a really shitty PC port and I can't support that.

[Del Murder]

I thought Watch Dogs was supposed to be the first truly 'next gen' blockbuster? I guess I was wrong. Well, I don't have to buy a PS4 yet then. :p

I'm a little wary based on the reviews I've read so far, so I'll give this one a wait and see approach. Like others have said, it just isn't worth $60 at this stage.

[Skyblade]

I thought Watch Dogs was supposed to be the first truly 'next gen' blockbuster? I guess I was wrong. Well, I don't have to buy a PS4 yet then. :p

It will sell that way. Then we'll get legions of people complaining about it's relatively poor graphical fidelity all over the internet. The graphics whores will stop buy games because they believe they'll just be lied to and disappointed again, and the industry's obsession with pushing HD titles will fall back to actually making good games again.

What? I can dream.



Also, I am watching TotalBiscuit's video. It's running at 900p, 30FPS on PS4, and 792p, 30 FPS on the Xbox One? That's impressively terrible. If a game can't run at least 60 FPS, let alone getting up to 1080p, on the consoles, I really don't think it's "next gen".

[Del Murder]

If it looks anything like AC4 did on PS3 then I'd be happy. That game was gorgeous. Not Last of Us gorgeous but that's a high bar for any game.

[Perducci]

I got it yesterday for PS3 and after my first few hours playing it I am completely unimpressed.

I don't usually care too much about graphics but considering how this game looked in the original trailers, it looks terrible. After spending a good couple of months playing GTAV, driving around such a bland city is just incredibly boring. So far I've seen a couple of well-detailed places, but overall the entire game looks incredibly flat and washed out. It's like they decided to focus solely on the main characters coat-tails, which admittedly look pretty cool billowing in the wind when you're running about.

The driving in this game is horrible. I've completely phased through obstacles rather than crash into them and have also had things stick to the car as I'm driving it. The hacking is fun at first but eventually descends into simply 'Press square to hack' and jumping between security cameras gets incredibly boring considering how similar most of the missions are. There has been a couple of occasions where the hacking gets a little more complicated, but from what I've seen so far, it's essentially the same hacking mechanic you get in games like Bioshock where you have to switch around sections of a circuit board to allow a current to pass from point A to point B.

Aside from that (and a bunch of other points I'll keep to myself for now), the voice acting and character design is less than great.

I wasn't expecting this to be the game of the year or anything, but it had a lot of potential which has apparently gone to waste. I'm going to give it time to impress me, but my first impression is that this game was a waste of £35.

I do like the profiling system and reading through the random citizen descriptions, but aside from that I'm not finding too much to be excited about.

[Dat Matt]

Also, I am watching TotalBiscuit's video. It's running at 900p, 30FPS on PS4, and 792p, 30 FPS on the Xbox One? That's impressively terrible. If a game can't run at least 60 FPS, let alone getting up to 1080p, on the consoles, I really don't think it's "next gen".

That's seems to be what's pissing off reddit (The best source for opinions in the internet). The game on Ultra High is quiet a downgrade from the footage they showed two years ago. They also said they would provide 1080p/60fps on all platforms and they couldn't deliver. Either this shows the limitations of the next gen platforms less than a year after release, or that Ubisoft are okay with promising a product and not delivering.

[Skyblade]

I got it yesterday for PS3 and after my first few hours playing it I am completely unimpressed.

I don't usually care too much about graphics but considering how this game looked in the original trailers, it looks terrible. After spending a good couple of months playing GTAV, driving around such a bland city is just incredibly boring. So far I've seen a couple of well-detailed places, but overall the entire game looks incredibly flat and washed out. It's like they decided to focus solely on the main characters coat-tails, which admittedly look pretty cool billowing in the wind when you're running about.

The driving in this game is horrible. I've completely phased through obstacles rather than crash into them and have also had things stick to the car as I'm driving it. The hacking is fun at first but eventually descends into simply 'Press square to hack' and jumping between security cameras gets incredibly boring considering how similar most of the missions are. There has been a couple of occasions where the hacking gets a little more complicated, but from what I've seen so far, it's essentially the same hacking mechanic you get in games like Bioshock where you have to switch around sections of a circuit board to allow a current to pass from point A to point B.

Aside from that (and a bunch of other points I'll keep to myself for now), the voice acting and character design is less than great.

I wasn't expecting this to be the game of the year or anything, but it had a lot of potential which has apparently gone to waste. I'm going to give it time to impress me, but my first impression is that this game was a waste of £35.

I do like the profiling system and reading through the random citizen descriptions, but aside from that I'm not finding too much to be excited about.

The hacking was apparently dumbed down so that it could be executed while moving, or especially driving, around. Which is understandable, but it still really dulls the mechanics.

The city does look pretty boring, which is a huge problem for a sandbox game. While Totalbiscuit says that the missions and submissions themselves play out with quite a bit of variety, if the sandbox isn't engaging enough to get to them, you have a problem.

My impression: I fail to see any reasonable difference between this and a PS3 title. Why did we need a new console again?

[Madame Adequate]

I've been enjoying what I've played so far, but the problem is that if I come within 100m of my hideout (and going here is the first objective once you leave the starting area and lose the cops) the game crashes.

So basically I'm a big dummy for giving Ubi money. Don't be like me kids.

[Vyk]

I have an AMD rig :(

[Old Manus]

I remember the first clip of it that came out a few years ago, and I thought it looked really cool and interesting until he suddenly decided to pull out an automatic rifle and start gunning down waves of people in between explosions, Gears Of War style. Has this changed?

[NeoCracker]

The combat is much more comparable to Saints Row oddly enough, but much less goofy.

The hacking probably could have been better, but that said all the hacking tricks are fun as hell to do on the run. Screwing with traffic lights, raising bridges, opening and closing gates, rasing and lowering the road blockers, all add a lot to the games driving, which I haven't phased through any obsticals yet, and I'm, most likely, nearly finished with act 2.

Triggering thing to overload, explode, and all sorts of other things keeps the ground combat a lot of fun. It's more about how you use the environment around you then how you use your guns to win a fight.

I think the Voice acting is not bad, just inconsistant. Except Jordi and Aiden. I think Aiden is pretty consistently good, and Jordi is fucking wonderful. Like, oh my god I love Jordi. I want his game so much.

The writing so far has been incredible. I just got to The Bunker, though i won't spoil what that is exactly for the rest of you. :p

It may not deliver on the hype of how amazing the hacking was going to be, but I still find they made great use of it.

Also, Perhaps I'm not having the driving issues you are due to mine being the PS4 version? Not sure though. :p

[Elite Lord Sigma]

I have the 360 version of the game as a result of forgetting about my months-old pre-order. I've installed the game on my console, but I actually haven't had an opportunity to play it yet due to reasons beyond my control.

[NeoCracker]

Just beat Watchdogs and....

I think the ending is kind of out of order. You get what seems like it should be the big climax, then then the game actually ends on finishing up a few loose ends, and it feels awkward.


So, after all the hacking you finally find out Iraq was the second hacker, got a bunch of blackmail on pretty much everyone in the city. After he's handled, you save your sister from your old partner, and then you go after the guy who ordered the hit that killed your daughter, Lucky Quinn. You kill him off, find out this was all to keep a video safe (One he simply assumed you were after at the Murlot.) and you get your showdown with him and kill him off, get the data to expose the whole thing.

...And this isn't the end of the game. Maurice kills Clara, and somehow hacks into the entirety of the ctOS, just because this still needed resovled. And you and T-Bone do stuff and go kill him.

THough as it turns out Jordi was just given a contract to come kill you. And he does, cause... I dont' know. Anyway you kill Maurice, Jordi survives and continues working with you cause he's all business, and game over.

I really don't see why Jordi was even thrown in that last scene there to be fully honest. It was just.. awkard.

Really the whole Maurice thing shoudl have been tied up prior to QUinn, who really felt like he was the finally the game had built too. THe bit of Maurice hacking the entire ctOS comes completely out of left field at the end.

Asside from the end game fuckery, this was a pretty damn good game. They made excellent use of the hacking for combat purposes, even if out of combat it was pretty basic, and it was actually a pretty damn challenging game. On PS4 I've got none of teh bugs I'd been hearing about popping up on other systems, so if you have a PS4 I definitely recommend. :p